For the love of his family and tradition, he fights for his land on Murray Island. 3. Business development support and succession planning. This dispossession occurred largely without compensation, and successive governments have failed to reach a lasting and equitable agreement with Aboriginal peoples and Torres Strait Islanders concerning the use of their lands.[12]. Mabo's credibility as the primary witness for the case was savaged . Please join with me in acknowledging the life long accomplishments of Russell Taylor. But the . He told them of his dream of ending his days on Murray Island, on the ancestral land that had been handed down through his family for 15 generations. (2014 lecture transcript), 2013 Presentation by Dr Bryan Keon-Cohen QC. That is, how do we build on the underlying communal title to create options for our economic development? Eddie Mabo's legal pursuit of these issues resulted in one of the most significant legal cases in Australian history, in that it completely overturned the idea of terra nullius (land belonging to no-one) and challenged traditionally held beliefs about how Australia came into being, and about ownership of land. In one, the presiding judge said the mere introduction of British law did not extinguish Aboriginal customary law. Mabo was a Torres Strait islander from Mer (Murray Island), off Australia's north-east coast. Can Nigeria's election result be overturned? But who was Eddie Mabo, why did he take up what must have seemed like a hopeless cause and what is the legacy of his campaign? As this brave mans voice even as he had passed was heard by another man who is now gone and together they changed us. The issue of compensation goes to the core of the initial intent of addressing the historical dispossession of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples from their lands and waters. Barrister Ron Castan, Eddie Mabo and barrister Bryan Keon-Cohen at . Justice John Willis said: "In Australia it is the colonists not the Aborigines are the foreigners.". AAP. Some went further, fuelling the hysteria with unsubstantiated claims - Jeff Kennett, then the premier of Victoria, said suburban backyards could be at risk of takeover by Aboriginal people. I was no lawyerbut I knew I sensed this was different. As a nation, this is an improvement from fourth position just over ten years ago in 2003.[10]. This will always be our land. And in 1981, Eddie was invited by the same university to make a speech about Mer's land inheritance system. Words like han. This case, I said thisman Mabo will change Australia. At http://hdr.undp.org/sites/default/files/reports/264/hdr_2003_en_complete.pdf (viewed 9 June 2015). These skills will enable us to make better and informed decisions for maximum benefit and I look forward, as I am sure you do, to the release of IBAs investment principles, which they are currently developing in partnership with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and organisations across the country. These things range from various legal and administrative barriers that are placed on us once a native title determination has been made and includes various tax and regulatory standards placed on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities in the post determination phase, conflicts between individual and communal property interests and issues arising from the conversion of title. It was on 3 June 1992 that the Australian High Court overturned more than 200 years of white domination of land ownership. We go on, he said, ever, ever, ever on. "Quite simply, Eddie Mabo brought an end to a two-centuries-old lie," says Rachel Perkins, director and inspiration behind the new movie, Mabo, released to coincide with the 20th anniversary of the historic High Court case. More information. Yindyamarra winanghanha. A clear theme from the Broome Roundtable revealed a common frustration among many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Winanghanha is to return to knowing: to know what we have always known. On this great day, I, Prime Minister of Australia, speak to you on behalf of the Australian people all those who honour and love this land we live in. The Keating government gave effect to the Mabo decision by introducing the Native Title Act 1993, which facilitated the process of recognising native title. The nation remained diminished. Eddie Mabo had challenged the very ideological establishment of Australia and the first Australians. He was, if you like, an Australian Nelson Mandela, someone who led his people in a struggle against incalculable odds, to what was rightfully theirs. Governance has always been at the core of our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures and our community life. Truth. 23 Nov 1990 - 21 Oct 1994 Library at the University College of Townsville, Queensland. Tenacity, fearlessness, fearsome, tireless are some of the words that come to mind when the names Rob Riley and Eddie Mabo are mentioned. For many at JCU, the landmark legal decision has been rendered personal, as well as political and historic, because of Eddie's important association with JCU staff and students, and with our surrounding communities. Mabo vs Queensland possible Commonwealth interventions, 1991 (A14039, 7909), The Mabo Decision principles for a response, 1993 (A14217, 1042), Mabo responses to the outline of legislation, 1993 (A14217, 1322), Mabo collection at the National Library of Australia, Building trust in the public record policy, Getting started with information management. 2004 Presentation by Fr Frank Brennan SJ AO. Words makaratta. This push for economic independence has sought to move away from models of government dependency and have been premised largely on the use of our land as the basis to achieve this. - Behind the News Behind the News 133K subscribers Subscribe 483 106K views 3 years ago Mabo Day on June 3rd, celebrates. Reynolds struck up a friendship with Eddie Mabo, who was then a groundsman and gardener at James Cook University. 2017 presentation by Professor Megan Davis, Pro Vice Chancellor Indigenous, University of New South Wales. This is our land. The debate about Mabo's legacy still goes on today, Many indigenous Australians still live in poverty, Bakhmut attacks still being repelled, says Ukraine, AOC under investigation for Met Gala dress, Mother who killed her five children euthanised, Canadian grandma helps police snag phone scammer, The children left behind in Cuba's exodus, Zoom boss Greg Tomb fired without cause. Drama Biopic Inspiring. On 3 June 1992, the High Court of Australia ruled in favour of limited native title. For significant service to the community as a cultural leader and public sector executive in the field of Indigenous affairs.. They claimed that Murray Island (Mer) and surrounding islands and reefs had been continuously inhabited and exclusively possessed by the Meriam people . You may have heard that Tim Wilson, Human Rights Commissioner and I recently co-convened a roundtable on Yawuru country on the issue of Indigenous property rights. Typical of such awards, the citations are generally understated and this is particularly so in your case. The next generation of native title issues are due to hit us shortly through processes such as litigation regarding ILUAs, variations to determinations and compensation proceedings.[2]. In 1981, Eddie Mabo made a speech at James Cook University in Queensland, where he explained his people's beliefs about the ownership and inheritance of land on Mer. In 1974, he became involved in a discussion with two academics. I must say though, that beyond economic development, effective governance is critical to ensuring that our organisations are transparent and accountable to our communities and this is one challenge to which we must rise. In 2014, Australia ranked second after Norway, in the United Nations Human Development Index,[9] a position that would seem to indicate that we all enjoy a quality of life superior to most others in the world. Eddie Mabo (left) and . and in 2008 James Cook University named its Townsville campus library the Eddie Koiki Mabo Library. This our ancestors did, according to the reckoning of our culture, from the Creation, according to the common law from "time immemorial", and according to science more than 60,000 years ago. Eddie Koiki Mabo: Land Rights in the Torres Strait I would like to first of all express my sincere thanks to the organizers of this conference: in particular the James Cook University Student Union and the Aboriginal Treaty Committee in Townsville for allowing me to speak at this very important conference. Despite the fact that the challenge of gaining native title is still a fight that many of us share, there has been a shift in focus now and we have started to see a gradual change in terms of ownership. Vincent Lingiari and men and women of the Gurindji people. Importantly, development is also a process through which other human rights can be realized and our wellbeing alongside all other populations is maximised. At: http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/features/property-rights-will-help-economic-development-of-indigenous-australians/story-e6frg6z6-1227365821530 (viewed 3 June 2015), [4] T Calma, Native Title Report 2005, Australian Human Rights Commission, 2005, p82. Few Australians then knew the name Eddie Mabo. 2009 Presentation by Professor Ross Garnaut, Vice-Chancellor's Fellow and Professorial Fellow in Economics, The University of Melbourne, and Distinguished Professor, The Australian University. And he knew truth. Transcript of proceedings.in the High Court of Australia between Eddie Mabo, David Passi, James Rice.and the State of Queensland Proceedings for 28-31 May 1991, 3 June 1992, and 8 December 1992. We will adapt, we will take advantage of these opportunities and we will leave a great legacy. Of invasion. Participants identified that we need to start considering the role of the financial services industry, as well as agencies such as Indigenous Business Australia and the Indigenous Land Corporation in the context of our economic development. As the Broome Roundtable highlighted, this remains one of the key unresolved issues facing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and their quest for ongoing economic development. That nearly a third of our land mass is Indigenous owned is testament to this. "He became a driven man," says his friend and documentary maker, Trevor Graham. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are advised that this site may contain names, images or voices of people who have passed away. The legal decision was made by the High Court on 3 June 1992. Older articles are being reviewed with a view to bringing them into line with contemporary values but the original text will remain available for historical context. In 1992 the High Court handed down its historic ruling. He's recorded as saying: "No way, it's not theirs, it's ours." But he was wrong. He was right. 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(2011 lecture transcript), 2010 Presentation by Professor Chris Sarra. Whilst the case did little to clarify the legal principles around calculating compensation, it is one example of the positive realization after many years, of the rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to land and waters within the native title system. On 3 June 1992 the High Court of Australia ruled that a group of Torres Strait Islander people, led by Eddie Mabo, owned the island of Mer (Murray Island). [6] UN Declaration on the Right to Development, Article 1, para 1. It is short for Mabo and others v Queensland (No 2) (1992). To Eddie Koiki Mabo and chief justice Sir Gerard Brennan. In his book Why Weren't We Told?, Reynolds describes the talks they had regarding Mabo's people's rights to their lands, on Murray Island, in the Torres Strait. Read about our approach to external linking. Mabo died five months earlier from cancer in January 1992, at the age of 55. His mother passed away shortly after his birth and he was adopted by his maternal Uncle and Aunt, Benny and Maiga Mabo in line with Islander . Well, Australia now stands at a moment of history. To seek justice we had to speak the words of British law. These are the traditional lands and waters of the Meriam people, and the final resting place of Eddie Mabo in Las Village. Love, suffering, hope, justice and truth Eddie Mabo knew about love too. It is clear that the current system has not delivered what had initially been intended to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. Unfortunately, the right to development is not a concept often thought about in relation to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as members of a developed country. I am sure that these issues will resonate with many of you here today. [1] Cast [ edit] Jimi Bani as Eddie Mabo Gedor Zaro as Young Eddie Deborah Mailman as Bonita Mabo (ne Neehow) He was a Meriam man and grew up on Mer, part of the Murray Island Group in the Torres Strait. Today I want to talk about how Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples can be the leaders to grasp new opportunities that will leave a legacy for generations to come. A panel of judges at the High Court ruled that Aboriginal people were the rightful custodians of the land. But alongside . Importantly, the Roundtable highlighted that despite previous promises around compensation for historical dispossession, this has not yet materialized. [10] UN Development Programme, Human Development Index, UN Human Development Report, p237. A lawyer heard the speech and asked . It was also a flagrant disregard of Britain's own existing laws, which stated that the Aboriginal people did have title rights over their own land. On November 16, 1990, after a year of considering the facts of the case, Justice Moynihan delivered his written findings to the High Court of Australia. In acknowledging the traditional rights of the Meriam people to their land, the court also held that native title existed for all Indigenous people. : he world to possession and I emfphasise Opossessions However, in the lead-up to these hearings, the Parliament of Queensland passed the Queensland Coast Islands Declaratory Act 1985, which asserted that, upon being annexed by the Queensland Government in 1879, 'the islands were vested in the Crown freed from all other rights, interests and claims'. (2013 lecture transcript), 2012 Presentation by Professor Henry Reynolds. Court cases in the mid-19th century challenged the idea of British settlement at the time the rulings were in favour of the Crown. Mabo Day occurs annually in Australia on 3rd June. He knew about suffering. Eddie Mabo was a staff member at JCU, working as a groundsman from 1967 to 1971. Friends we are the First Peoples of this country and we are the oldest living culture in the world because of our ability to adapt to ever changing environments and circumstances. He is hardworking and determined, but at the cost of his family life. Overwhelmingly, what participants told us at the Roundtable was that whilst there had been an expansion of the Indigenous estate since the commencement of the Native Title Act that it largely has not delivered sustainable outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. Sign up for free to create engaging, inspiring, and converting videos with Powtoon. I have previously spoken at length about the importance of the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, which contains 46 articles on the rights that Indigenous peoples all around the world hold. Unlike them, however, Mabo wasn't going to accept it. Australian law for two centuries hid the truth behind words. In particular, this was raised as a way that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities might be able to leverage finances in order to support economic development opportunities and to improve the capacity of our mobs to best manage these prospects in the future. Eddie Mabo's dream had come true; a meeting of minds to address the issue of Aboriginal land . I hope that youll share with me the need to move this conversation forward, in order to best realise our rights under native title and the benefits that should follow from that. And he was right. There will be many words between now and then. Participants in Broome identified there was a real need to have a new conversation with Government around Indigenous land and property rights and how this might translate into sustainable economic development. [1] And that shift is the move to the next emerging challenge; how do we maximise these rights to their full potential, now that we have our native title recognized? Of law. You can find it still, somewhere buried in the archives of ABC News.
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